Press Releases

Below you can find leaked information from the Hasselblad website on the upcoming Hasselblad X1D Mirrorless medium format camera which appears to be based off of the Sony 50 megapixel CMOS crop sensor that is currently used in the Pentax 645Z, Hasselblad H5D-50C, and PhaseOne IQ150, IQ250 and now IQ350 MFDB’s.

Photographers Laura Bailey and AORTA were given early access to the camera to create a gallery of sample images.

Pricing leaked images obtained by PhotoRumors show the camera, as well as list the pricing which is $8,995 for the body and Hasselblad XCD 45mm f/3.5 lens is $2,295 and the Hasselblad XCD 90mm f/3.2 lens which will cost $2,695. So body and lens $11,290. No word on adapters or a lens roadmap as of yet (but don’t get your hopes up for either).

Quick Takes

- First off, it’s an EVF (Electronic Viewfinder), and without espousing all of the benefits of an OVF (Optical Viewfinder) over an EVF here…..let’s just say the worlds best EVF is still no where near the quality of an OVF..- To make an affordable “prosumer” grade product, Hasselblad hasn’t really cut costs, but has cut features to make it more “basic” with an Overly basic user interface, and the removal of helpful buttons found on the H body and XF..- It’s limited to 50mp; It’s limited to a small sensor. Only 1.3x crop this is not true medium format. It seems likely that means the entire XCD lens line will almost surely be limited to that 1.3 crop. You’d be investing in a lens and body lineup that aren’t full frame medium format. Full frame medium format rangefinders are inevitable…Why invest in the little brother as going full frame won’t make it that much bigger/heavier and would make such a nicer camera..- First Generation. Like any “world’s first” it’s a great idea, but how likely is it that they knock it out of the park the first time. An X2D or what is sure to be a wave of followon MF rangefinders is inherently more interesting. I am concerned about a future lenses and expandability.

It should be noted that although the PhaseOne A-Series does contain Alpa components, it is being sold at all PhaseOne authorized dealers, even if they do not carry the full Alpa product line. My preferred PhaseOne dealer, Digital Transitions (digitaltransitions.com) located locally in NYC will be one of the first to have the new PhaseOne A-Series. I will be working extensively with Digital Transitions as well as PhaseOne to help bring more content about A-Series in the near future.

The A-Series is more then it appears at first glance. On the surface, it is an Alpa TC (travel compact), combined with a one of three flavors PhaseOne back and three Rodenstock lenses, and it is all of these things, however it is also a lot more.

While still usable, the PhaseOne A250 (IQ250), PhaseOne A260 (IQ260) or PhaseOne A280 (IQ280) sold with as part of the A-Series kit, will feature LCC’s for each specific lens applied in camera meaning that what you see is what you get on the back of the camera. This can be accomplished because the Alpa TC which the A-Series is based off of does not have movements. I believe that this is a huge boon for this as a compact travel system because there is much more certainty that you have got the shot, as well as the fact that it makes editing much easier. Most importantly however, it means that you can take pictures in rapidly changing conditions without having to worry about capturing an LCC (which requires a second exposure to be made, identical to the first in every way immediately after an image is taken). LCC’s vastly improve resulting images (especially with movements, but also for single-shots), however they are time consuming to capture. Being able to know that you have three lenses where your resulting images will be the absolute best on the planet straight out of the camera with no further steps required is huge.

The PhaseOne A-Series is pretty much the newest, latest and greatest “Most expensive point and shoot in the world”, not only does it capture this title, but it also captures the title of “most expensive mirrorless camera”. It does require manual focusing, however this is aided both by live-view on the camera’s rear screen (and live-view soon to be available in PhaseOne CapturePilot 1.8) as well as via image review on both the cameras rear screen and on iOS devices via CapturePilot. Further mitigating any complications presented by manual focusing are the PhaseOne IQ-series’ premium features including a focus mask available during image review that shows you which part of your image is in focus, as well as flashing highlight warning. Further, with all three of the lenses 23mm, 35mm and 70mm the PhaseOne A-Series can easily be set to a hyperfocal distance (http://www.dofmaster.com) where the focus distance can be calculated and set such that maximum DoF can be achieved at any aperture making shooting a breeze.

Since the PhaseOne A-series is sold as a package is has a number of other advantages. First, since it is delivered as a single package, its 5-year warranty is extended to all components of the package. The Rodenstock lenses are calibrated at the Alpa Factory with their HPF focusing rings which means that they will be as precise as humanly possible. Also the PhaseOne digital back will be shimmed by Alpa. Shimming is a very meticulous process where effectively an offset is created spacing the digital back and the lens just precisely to yield the sharpest possible image. Considering the extremely high-tolerences that Alpa products are manufactured too this is a process where changes are happening at the level of fractions of a millimeter with extremely thin pieces of metal being placed in the digital backs mount to create the required distance for the ultimate image quality for the PhaseOne digital back.

Another great thing is that, while this is a kit, the parts can be used with other camera systems. For instance, if you decide you want more control over your photography, you can opt for an Alpa body with movements, like the STC (stitch travel compact) or SWC (Super wide compact) as well as add additional lenses and accessories for more creative control. Also you can take the IQ2 series digital back off of the PhaseOne A-Series and put it on any Mamiya M mount medium format camera like the PhaseOne 645DF+ and enjoy the full range of autofocus and leaf shutter lenses from PhaseOne and Schneider-Krueznach.

Alpa’s are often compared to fine Swiss-watches or luxury performance automobiles because of their absolutely impeccable mechanics, finishing and attention to details. Alpa’s are well loved by commercial and fine-art photographers for their luxurious feel and absolute precision. Combined with PhaseOne digital backs they can produce some absolutely stunning results.

These backs offer a few small improvements, and offering some interesting accompanying news about the much anticipated (if your into that sort of thing) USB 3.0 tethering option which has yet to be enabled. As Digital Transitions explains in this blog post, USB 3.0 tethering is in Beta testing, and essentially if you ask nicely you can receive this firmware for you IQ back.

These backs are physically identically similar to the IQ1 series digital backs, however they have a new locking mechanism for the digital back to the camera where the sliding lever must be pushed forward and held in place while the button is then pressed to allow for the release of the back. This function makes it slightly less convenient to remove the back from the camera, but this small sacrifice in convenience adds to the safety of the camera by ensuring that the back is always locked on the camera.

The IQ2 series is fairly well covered on the PhaseOne website, but I will highlight a few of the key points. Firstly and most prominently, the IQ2 series digital backs feature wireless remote control and “wireless check” through the Capture Pilot iOS App which will be updated to communicate with the IQ2 series digital backs over the wireless connection that the IQ2 will transmit for itself from internal components built into the camera. This field generated by the camera (which is totally safe by the way, and if you are afraid of it, then are you also afraid of cell-phones???) will be functional for a small to medium radius around the camera, and should do fine for most shoots, however a repeater is recommended if you wish to use these features at distance.

the PhaseOne IQ280 is now the flagship product replacing the IQ180. It has been upgraded with the wireless connectivity discussed above. It also will feature USB 3.0 Connectivity at launch. Also, interestingly, through the retooling of all of the electronics including the A/D converter, the firmware and supporting electronics the IQ2 adds an extra half-stop of dynamic range to the camera bringing it from 12.5 stops of dynamic range in the IQ1 series to 13.0 stops (+0.5 stops) in the IQ2 series. This is certainly a nice little boost to the camera, although not something that you will sorely miss in most applications if you have an IQ180.

The more interesting additions to the IQ2 series line-up are the IQ260 and IQ260 Achromatic digital backs. These backs, offer all of the improvements and added features discussed above, plus a few extra things. the IQ260 digital back now offers long exposure capability of up to an hour, like its forerunner the P45+ which also featured this capability. Now, in the IQ260 the Dalsa sensor is specially used in a mode where it utilizes the outside of each pixel allowing for heat to escape through the center of each pixel. This allows for the sensor to stay cool long enough to yield usable exposures for extended periods of time just like on the P45+. Because of the way that this special use of the sensor works, the base ISO is raised to ISO 140 when using this mode. I am unsure whether the mode is usable with ISO’s other then ISO 140, but more to come on that in the near future **Long exposure mode works from ISO140-ISO800**. Updating another interesting model in the PhaseOne line-up the IQ260 Achromatic replaces the aging P-series Achromatic+ digital back. The IQ260 Achromatic captures images in the same was as the Achromatic+, i.e with a dedicated monochromatic sensor. However, the IQ260 offers a couple of improvements over the Achromatic+, namely the 60mp resolution (as well as the full-frame size of the sensor) and the IQ series digital back interface. An issue with the Achromatic+ was that it suffered from missed AF because of the added IR sensitivity of the sensor which resulted in focus shift, this was not easily identifiable in the field with the P45 based Achromatic+ back, where now on the IQ260 Achromatic back you have the ultra-high resolution screen of the IQ series to allow for you to check focus. I suspect that this camera will be very popular because of the recent resurgence in interest in monochromatic digital imaging. It is sort-of ironic that all digital imaging (35mm and medium format) started with black-and-white monochromatic sensors, and now we are again going that way for the aesthetic. With the overwhelming popularity of the Leica M9 Monochrome (I love mine) and the announcement of the insanely popular Red Epic with a monochrome sensor (Epic-M), the IQ260 fits in very nicely so that there are options across 35mm, medium format and motion pictures for true monochromatic imaging.

Unfortunately though, the IQ260 Achromatic does not offer the up to one hour long exposures of the regular IQ260 camera. I’m sure that there is some technical reason why this feature is not possible with the monochromatic sensor in the Achromatic but I do not know what this is.

Personally, the IQ280 doesn’t offer any compelling reason for me to personally upgrade since I do not shoot tethered that often and .5 of a stop of dynamic range, while nice is not a earth-shattering revelation in this upgrade. Its unfortunate that it could not just be done through firmware, which would have been a nice little surprise for IQ180 (and IQ160 and IQ140 owners out there). The IQ260 Achromatic with a hot mirror filter could be a very interesting option for some monochromatic imaging, as well as IR with differing filters. The IQ260′s long-exposure capabilities are certainly a boon for it and certainly make it an even more marketable camera then it already is, considering its jump in MP over the P45+ while maintaining the same long exposure abilities. The only thing that I regret, as mentioned above is that the Achromatic does not have the long exposure feature, but I guess we can’t have everything. All and all this is a nice little unexpected release surprise from PhaseOne which brings some new backs to market with some unique features. To me the stars of this release are the IQ260 Achromatic and the regular IQ260. The IQ280 will be a great camera, I know this because the IQ180 is a great camera, and the features it adds are certainly great improvements for new users but may not be compelling for current users to upgrade. I believe that for a limited time there is an upgrade path for IQ1 owners to IQ2 backs at a discount.